HACCP Program for Warehouse Handling Food Products- A simple Guide for Startups

Definitions of terms used.

Before we get started, let's first look at key terms to be used in this blog.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)

HACCP is a food safety management system that addresses food safety concerns through the analysis and control of contaminants (physical, chemical, and biological).

Critical Control Points (CCP)

Step in the process at which a control measure is applied to prevent or reduce a significant food safety hazard to an acceptable level.

Critical limits

Measurable values that separate acceptability from unacceptability.

Deviation

Non-fulfillment of a set requirement.

Corrective actions

These are actions  taken to eliminate a deviation and to prevent its recurrence.

Risks

Risks are the effects or consequences of the uncertainty of an event.

Setting up a HACCP Program for Warehouse

The food chain starts from the garden and ends at the consumer’s table. Along this chain, there are several players involved, and among these are warehouses or food storage facilities, which have received very little attention concerning food safety.

Warehouses, or call them food distribution centers, play a vital role in the food chain, which includes but are not limited to; prolonging the shelf-life of food products during storage, offer services for proper post-harvest handling and they are also food product distribution centers.

This blog intends to make it easier for those setting up or running warehouses (distribution centers) to set up a HACCP Program, based on HACCP Principles.

The HACCP program is a collection of documents that details how the seven principles of HACCP are going to be drafted, implemented, maintained, or improved. It involves a series of crucial steps that come before implementing the seven principles of HACCP. Let’s look at those steps before we proceed to the HACCP principles: 

Step 1. Describe your product and the process involved

In the case of a warehouse, this should include:

1. Food and other related products at the facility (frozen, chilled, or dry products).
2. Intended shelf life and storage conditions 
3. The nature of packaging
4. The product labeling
5. Special Distribution Control
6. Where will products be taken/sold?
7. Allergen conditions if present.
8. Intended use of the product

Your HACCP Program should be able to exhaust the most relevant details about the kind of products that are received, stored, and dispatched from your warehouse. Plus all other relevant information including; their handling, storage, and distribution. This enables warehouse management to detail, proper product handling. For simplicity, use the table format shown in Appendix 2. Please note that this only serves as a template. Add in as much information as you can.

Describe the process

Describe the processes involved, from when the product is received to the warehouse to its dispatch. It should include quality checks at each step, the person responsible, and the records involved. If a particular step becomes a Critical Control Point (CCP) after the Hazard analysis procedure, include in your details a corrective action in case of any deviation.

The information from the process description is summarized in the process flow diagram.

Do you want to see a template for a process description? Check out Appendix.

Step 2: Describe the intended use

List in detail all the intended uses of the product. Is it a finished product, or it's a raw material of another product? The intended use can also be determined by the final consumer or user.

Step 3. Construct a flow diagram of your process

The flow diagram shows the order of process flow at a warehouse, from when the products are received through storage to dispatch. The flow diagram also includes a summary of the vital information at every stage. Your HACCP program should have plans for reviewing the flow diagram, and in case of changes to the process, the flow diagram must be up to date to reflect those changes.

Note:

In my recently concluded audit, this part got me a minor non-conformity and cost me vital points: after developing your Flow diagram, the HACCP team must review it and sign against it. This is evidence that they have verified the Flow diagram.

See a sample of the process flow for a warehouse in the Appendix.

 Step 4. On-site confirmation of flow diagram

The process flow diagrams and description should be an exact representation of what takes place in the warehouse. You should be able to trace the process on the ground as it is in the flow diagrams, make adjustments where there was an omission or misrepresentation.

Step 5. Assemble a HACCP team

The HACCP team is a multi-disciplinary group of individuals tasked with developing and implementing the HACCP program. Ideally, it should have a member from every department of the warehouse. They should include, but not limited to, the following;

1. Top management
2. Quality controller/Quality assurance department
3. Engineering department
4. Sanitation department
5. Operations department 

The reason for this selection is simple-they are all stakeholders and determine the successful implementation and maintenance of the HACCP program.

The HACCP team leader appoints team members, whose letters of appointment should be on file. These have to be trained on different food safety requirements, and training records must be kept on file. The HACCP team reviews the warehouse HACCP program at least once every year, and evidence for the review must be kept on file. Any changes made, must be based on food safety risk assessment.

Note; The HACCP team training can be conducted internally by designated warehouse personnel or by a third-party organization.

Draft a simple document showing the names, positions, designation, and responsibilities of each team member. Check out Appendix 1 for a sample document of the HACCP team.

Having completed the first steps of the HACCP Program, let us now turn our focus to the HACCP Principles. 

There are seven principles of a HACCP plan;

1. Hazard analysis
2. Determine Critical Control Points
3. Establish Critical limits
4. Establish a monitoring procedure
5. Establish corrective action
6. Establish a verification procedure
7. Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures.

Just like any other food facility, follow these principles when setting up a HACCP Plan for your warehouse. We shall look at each principle, and how they apply to a warehouse/ food distribution center. Let’s start, shall we?

Conduct a hazard analysis for a warehouse. 

According to ISO 22000:2018, a food safety hazard is a biological, chemical, or physical agent in food with the potential to cause adverse health effects. The first step of hazard analysis is to identify all potential food hazards at every stage of the product handling process - receiving, storage, and dispatch.

Biological food hazards include spoilage microorganisms like yeast, molds, pathological bacteria such as E.coli, streptococcus, and salmonella (common in poultry products such as eggs and chicken meat)

Chemical hazards include;

• Food additives
•  chemical contaminants from food packaging
• allergens
• naturally occurring toxins  

Physical contaminants include

• Jewelry from the warehouse employees
• glass,  
• metal fillings

To identify these agents and the risk of their occurrence, you need to carry out a hazard analysis for each process of the warehouse. It involves using preliminary information to determine the specific hazards to control, their severity, and the likelihood of their occurrence, the control stages, and the measures to take.

Look at the process flow of your particular warehouse. Warehouses have three main process steps- receiving, storage, and dispatch. Look at each process step, identify the possible hazards associated with it, their source, and the risk they pose to the food product, and how it can be mitigated or prevented.

Let’s use the receiving stage as our example. Several hazards can occur during this stage. These include potential microbial growth in the case of temperature-sensitive products and product adulteration from physical contaminants because of the damaged packages.

Do this for the rest of the steps in your process flow. After identifying the likely hazards and their sources. 

Food Safety Risk Assessment

After identifying the possible hazards, then carry out a risk assessment. A risk assessment is an exhaustive evaluation of the likelihood that a hazard could be present, and the level of severity this would have on a consumer of the product. It enables you to gauge the severity and the likelihood of the risk posed by the hazard identified and to determine where to implement safety procedures. In short, risk= severity x likelihood of the hazard occurring.

The likelihood is the probability of the identified hazard occurring (it can be high, low, or medium), and the severity is the impact it causes to the consumer in case it happens. The impact can be severe, moderate, or mild. In case the likelihood and severity of the identified hazard are high, then the risk is high, and it calls for urgent actions and regular monitoring by a warehouse designated personnel.

Risk assessment ensures that food safety controls are effective, relevant, timely, and responsive to food safety threats. It also helps the warehouse management prioritize food risks and how to deal with them in a sensible manner. 

Risk assessment is shown by the model below

 

Green, blue and red boxes represent low, medium, and high risks respectively.

Note;

• The warehouse facility should have a documented Risk Assessment as part of the HACCP program.
• Risk assessment should be carried out by the warehouse’s HACCP team.
• Risk assessment training must be carried out for key HACCP team members, including the quality assurance department for a minimum of annually.

Check Appendix 6 and 7 for examples of Hazard analysis and risk assessment, respectively.

Determine Critical Control Points

Critical control points are steps in the process flow at which control measures are applied to prevent or reduce an identified hazard to an acceptable level. Acceptable levels are set by a regulatory body, a statutory body, or by a client. 

These acceptable levels are measurable values, and they separate acceptability from unacceptability. Take the example of a chilled product. The law can require a product temperature to be between 1°C and 4°C. This range is called a Critical limit. We shall cover more about Critical limits in our next HACCP principles.

You can use a decision tree to identify which part of your process is a critical control point and which part is not. There are various Critical Control point (CCP) decision trees, but in our case, we will use a simplified version (see the decision tree in the Appendix).

Establish Critical Control Limits

As we have previously discussed in our second HACCP principle, Critical limits are measurable values at which an identified hazard is prevented, or reduced to an acceptable level. There must be a basis for setting up these ranges. In most cases, a regulatory, statutory, or client issues them out.

Warehouse management can choose a HACCP program with stricter limits. For instance, if the regulatory-Critical limit for a chilled product is 1°C-4°C, the warehouse management can set it at 1°C-3°C. 

If critical control limits are exceeded, the products affected should be handled as potentially unsafe for consumption. That means critical limits are put in place to determine whether a specific CCP remains under control.

Establish a monitoring system to monitor control of Critical Control points

A monitoring procedure detects any deviation from the Critical limits. It details how the measurement procedure, the equipment used, and their calibrations status, the frequency of measurement, and who is responsible for these activities.

The monitoring method, equipment, and frequency should be capable of timely detection of any deviation from the set Critical limits such that corrective action(s) is initiated in the shortest time possible.

The results of the monitoring procedure are subjected to validation in the next  HACCP principle and are a basis for continuous improvement of the whole HACCP program.

Let’s assume warehouse x has frozen product temperature at receiving, storage, and dispatch as its Critical control points: CCP1, CCP2, and CCP3, respectively, with critical limits of -18⁰C to -26⁰C (Of course, basing their decision on scientific findings from their risk analysis).

To monitor these CCPs, the management decides to use probe thermometers to measure product temperature at the receiving, storage, and dispatch. For the accuracy of the results, the facility must calibrate its thermometer and keep calibration records. These records must indicate the details of the thermometer calibrated, such as the serial number or any other assigned code.

Establish Corrective Actions

Corrective actions are sets of procedures that are put in place when Critical limits are not met or when exceeded. This procedure details the following:

1. What happens to the affected batch of products?
2. What is the cause of the deviation? 
3. The parameter controlled at the CCP is returned within the set Critical limits.
4. How can a reoccurrence be prevented?

Using warehouse X as our example, if a product temperature rises above -18⁰c, the management lists it as non-conforming, separates it from other products, and distinctively labels it as; don’t use, product on hold, and non-conforming product. All these have to be documented in a corrective action form and kept on file.

Follow this link to know more about handling non-conforming products: nonconformity-procedure

Establish a verification procedure

The verification procedure involves activities that confirm the following;

1. CCPs are well implemented and effective 
2. The hazard control program is well implemented and effective
3. The hazard levels are within the identified acceptable levels
4. Input to hazard analysis is up to date. 

Establish documentation and record-keeping procedure

Processes associated with all other HACCP principles should be documented and kept on file. These documents are controlled and regularly updated to take up new opportunities and continuously improve the HACCP program. 

NOTE: 

• I advise against using the same person for both verification and monitoring activities.
• The HACCP Team should meet at least once a year to discuss and update the HACCP Program, taking up new opportunities for continuous improvement.
• The general staff of the facility must undergo HACCP training and constantly reminded about the critical control points. This can be done through simplified work instruction pinned on walls and notice boards in the different sections of the facility.

Several other programs support the HACCP Program and without their proper implementation, the HACCP program will most certainly fail. Such programs include; 

• Good manufacturing practices 
• Good distribution practices 
• Good storage practices

These programs are grouped as prerequisite programs (PRPs). As the name suggests, these practices must first be implemented before setting up the HACCP Programs. These are covered in the subsequent post listed in the links below

1. Product recall procedure
2. Pest  control procedure
3. Cleaning Procedure

 In case you like this blog or any suggestions to make it better, feel free to leave me a comment below. For more information and possible auditor questions checkout our sister at the link below

https://howtopassis022000audits.blogspot.com/

APPENDIX

Appendix 1

HACCP/Food Safety Team

SR. NO	NAME	POSITION	DESIGNATION
1.	Prisca	Team Leader	Quality Assurance Manager
2.	William	Secretary	Warehouse Manager
3.	Magdalene	Member	Human Resource Manager
4.	Joan	Member	Chief Operations Manager
5.	Fred	Member	Supply Chain Manager
6.	Innocentes	Member	Warehouse Engineer

 

Personnel	Responsibilities in the HACCP system	Description of responsibility and authority
HACCP Team Leader	Overall Manager of the HACCP system	Is the overall coordinator of all HACCP activities Monitoring the implementation of the different HACCP controls

 

 

 

Appendix 2

Product description

		Frozen Products	Chilled Products
1	Product name
2	Intended shelf life and storage conditions
3	Packaging
4	Labeling	.
5	Where is it to be sold?
6	Special distribution controls
7	Intended use
8	Allergen condition

 

Appendix 3

Process Description

Step	Process Description	Responsibility	Record	Control Measure
1	Receiving supplies from suppliers
2	Storage and stacking
3	Sorting
4	Loading and Dispatch

Appendix 4

process flow  diagram

Appendix 6: a sample of a Hazard Identification and rating template.

Appendix 7

Incase of further inquires, please write to the blog's author at nanyanziteddy2@gmail.com. I will reply to every email.